Star Stride
by umbreonblue
Summary: Team Otori meets Galaxy Standard and helps them out. Meanwhile, the Nayuki Twins and Diane dress up Hounan. They all meet by coincidence, and get along well. Then, when Azuma suggests a race, Hoshitani joins in. Will he make the cut?
Hoshitani was watching a video of the End of Summer Stride Tournament Semi-finals, his eyes sparkling. "Ne, guys, come check this out!" His teammates look at the screen, just in time for Galaxy Standard's performance. "They're good," Tsukigami says, impressed. "Yeah. They're not bad," Tengenji comments.

Kuga nods in agreement. "Who are they?" Nayuki asks. Hoshitani excitedly answers, "Galaxy Standard, or Gal-Stan for short. Aren't they amazing? They're high schoolers like we are, but are already **big** as idols!" Then, Hoshitani clicks on the next video, "Also, they do stride!"

Nayuki tilts his head, "Um...what's stride?" Hoshitani gasps, "You don't know? Stride is running mixed with parkour, where teams of five plus the relationer work together to win a race!" Hoshitani sighs, "You know what, just watch the video!" They all watch the video, amazed by all the flips over obstacles the runners do as they race against each other, then, another pair of runners runs up to them, and they seem them slap their teammate's hand, then go on running like that until the finish line.

"That's amazing..." Tsukigami says in awe. "Why are they slapping the other's hands though?" Tengenji asks. "They do that to connect, and to let the new runner take over the race from there." Hoshitani answers.

"Ne, you mentioned relationers, what do they do?" Nayuki asks. "The relationers monitor the runners, telling them when to slow down, speed up, and more importantly, start running so they can connect." Hoshitani answers again. "You...know a lot about this, why?" Tengenji asks. "Because, I heard from Otori-senpai that we're gonna help them out tomorrow!" Hoshitani smiles excitedly. "Ehh?!" They all (except Kuga) yell.

* * *

Tomorrow...

Team Otori and their senpai arrive, seeing the stage Gal-Stan performs on. Hoshitani's particularly excited though. Then, someone comes over to them. "Oi! You guys must be from Ayanagi Academy, right? I'm Mayuzumi Azuma, nice to meet you!"

"Yeah! It's nice to meet you too! I'm Hoshitani Yuta, and I'm a fan of Gal-Stan!" Hoshitani smiles. "Eh? You actually **noticed me** on stage?" Azuma ask, not believing him. Hoshitani nods, "Yeah! Of course! You work hard in the background of the others, even though you don't shine as bright." Azuma suddenly hugs him, "Thanks..That means a lot, man!"

Then, the other members of Gal-Stan notice, and they walk over to introduce themselves. "I'm Mayuzumi Shimuza. Sorry about my brother," he bows, then tugs his brother off Hoshitani. "It's OK," Otori says. "Hi! I'm Bantaro Chiyomatsu, but call me Ban-chan!" He point to the person next to him, "And this is Okumura Kaede, or as I like to call him, May-chan!" "Don't call me that!"

"Senoo Tasuku," he says then stay quiet again. "And I'm Suwa Reji. I hope we get along," the leader of Gal-Stan hakes Otori's hand. "Likewise. I'm Otori Itsuki." "N-Nayuki Toru," Nayuki bows. "Tengenji Kakeru," Tengenji says. "Tsukigami Kaito," Kaito says. 'Kuga Shu," he says. Okumura's eyes sparkle, "Ne, are you related to Kuga-san?" "Not likely," Kuga responds.

They all get to their places, helping out and watching Gal-Stand perform.

* * *

One the other side...

Hounan was getting ready to model again. However, they see two twin girls here as well as Diane. "Sis...what is this?" Heath asks suspiciously. "Oh! Well, these girls have talent and are practically pro-designers! I plan on hiring them once they reach high school," Diane smiles. Heath raises an eyebrow, "Are you sure?"

"Yeah! We can do it! Don't underestimate us!" Yuki yells right in his face. "Underdogs," Tsumugi responds, also in his face. "OK! OK!" Heath yells in surrender, then sighs. "I'm Heath Hasekura, nice to meet you." "Nayuki Yuki desu!" "Nayuki Tsumugi desu."

Then, they get to work, choosing clothes for them. "Ah. I'm Yagami Riku!" "Fujiwara Takeru." "Sakurai Nana desu," she bows, "You two are really good!" "Thanks," Yuki replies. "Thank you," Tsumugi says. "Kadowaki Ayumu." "Kohinata Hozumi." They both look at him, "Girl material."

"Eh?" They quickly ambush him, and dress him in girl's clothes. This time, a gothic lolli dress. "Not again! Why me?" Kohinata asks, his manly pride waning. "It just suits you," Yuki says. Kohinata sighs in despair. "Kohinata-shi, the Diva of Hounan Stride!" Ayumu yells, which only gets a glare from Kohinata. That shut him up.

"Kuga Kyosuke." They look at him, "Are you related to our Kuga?" "Not likely," Kuga responds. They shrug, then get back to work.

* * *

One they're all done with work for today, they all step out into the hallway, only to see each other.

"Ah..."

"Yuki, Tsumugi, what're you doing here?" Nayuki asks. "We got scouted!" Yuki exclaims. "Future employment," Tsumugi adds. "Um...what's going on?" Riku asks. "Oh. Well, we're letting an idol school help us out today," Azuma smiles as he rubs the back of his neck. They all introduce themselves again to the other party.

Once Kohinata meets the twins' brother, he now understands where they got the idea to dress him up as a girl. He whispers to Nayuki, "Have they ever dressed you up as a girl before?" Nayuki sadly nods. Riku got along with Hoshitani rather quickly, chatting about bakeries. Once the two Kugas meet, they blink at each other, then say to the others, "No. We're not related whatsoever," at the same time. They all sweat-drop.

However, Fujiwara gets handsy again. "Wah!" Tsukigami yells in surprise. Fujiwara continues to feel the legs, "Hmm..not bad." Then, he moves on to Hoshitani's legs, "Wah!" "Hmm...these are the legs of a runner," Fujiwara says. "Ah! Well, I do like to run," Hoshitani replies as he tries to stay still, hoping he's move on to someone else. Then, Riku and Azuma come to the rescue, pulling Fujiwara off.

"Sorry about that. He's just obsessed with training, legs, protein, and stride in general," Riku says as they hold him back. "I-It's OK," Hoshitani says. "Oi, minna! Wanna race?" Azuma suggests, "You guys can come too. We don't mind." Hoshitani's eyes sparkle, "Can we?" Otori smiles, "Yeah. I bet it'll be fun, boys." Hoshitani cheers.

* * *

Outside, as they gather at a seduced spot in the park...

The two Kugas ask each other about their bikes. "Ne, can you two bike race sometime?" Okumura and Hoshitani ask. They both say, "Maybe." Okurmura and Hoshitani smile. As the chosen racers stretch, Hoshitani asks, "Ne, can I be in the race too?" Riku, and Azuma were surprised as well as everyone else. The runners all looked at each other and smiled. "Sure," they say. Hoshitani smiles excitedly.

They decide to have a three-way race, Hounan vs. Saisei vs. Ayanagi, the starting line being a **literal** line in the dirt, and a big faraway tree as the finish.

At the staring line was Hoshitani, Azuma,and Riku, all lined up and in position, Sakurai at the tree to determine the winner. Then, Shizuma yells, "On your marks...Get set...Go!"

They all dash forward, Hoshitani keeping up with Azuma, who was behind Riku. They run as fast as they can, keeping up with the twists and turns they have to make. Then, Hoshitani spots a shortcut over a staircase, and goes for it. He jumps on the railing, slides down, then quickly jumps off, heading off Azuma. He runs with all his might the rest of the way, Azuma and Riku running just as hard. When they get to the finish line, Hoshitani was just a bit behind Riku. _'C'mon! Just a bit more!'_

They cross the finish line, and Riku is declared the winner with Hoshitani in second, and Azuma in third. They pant and catch their breath. They all look at each other and smile. "Good race," Azuma says. "Yeah!" Hoshitani responds. "Still, that jump you made was crazy. You OK?" Riku asks. "Yeah. I'm alright," Hoshitani replies. They all go back to the starting line, happy.

Once back with the others, Hoshitani's teammates were buzzing, "That was amazing, Hoshitani-kun!" "Don't pull that kind of stunt again, you boor!" "What if you'd gotten hurt? But still, that was impressive." "Be more careful." Hoshitani nods, then looks to his senpai. "Did you have fun?" he asks. Hoshitani smiles, "Yeah!"

At the same time, Saisei's and Hounan's team were buzzing too. "Good job, Riku!" "You did great Azuma!" Then, they turned to Hoshitani, "You were very impressive back there." "You were like the underdog of all underdogs!" "Uh..thanks?" Reiji asks, taking Hoshitani's hand, looking into his eyes, "Would you like to be part of Gal-Stan and our stride team? We could use someone of your talent." "Eh? Um..." Hoshitani blushes.

Then, he gets pulled back by Fujiwara, "No. He'll be coming to **our** school for stride." They both glare at each other, sparks flying, the start pulling and fighting out him like a rag doll. Otori gets irritated and tries to step in, but... "Stop pulling! I'll break at this rate!" Hoshitani yells, which stops them, letting go of him.

Hoshitani sighs, then hit flicks both of their foreheads, "Ow!" Hoshitani looks at them, crossing his arms, " **Look**. I am **not interested** in running for stride. I run for **myself** , and **no one else**. While I would like to be in Gal-Stan, I'm **not ready** for that yet. Right now, I'm **perfectly happy** where I am. OK?" They both nod, "Sorry." "I forgive you."

They all go home, happy with how their day turned out.

* * *

At Hounan...

"Takeru, would you really let him on the team?" Riku asks as they walk. "Of course, but...he's made his decision," Takeru replies. "Yeah. I guess it's for the best..." Riku says, then he runs, "Race you home!" Takeru runs after him, the both of them smiling.

* * *

At Saisei...

"Reiji, would you honestly have him transfer just for Gal-Stan and stride?" Shizuma asks. "Yeah. I was serious about it, but what's done is done," Reiji sighs then smiles, "Besides...he looks much happier with them." Shizuma nods, "Yeah," then he sees Reiji sneaking a fried-noodle bun. "What have I said about those?!" He takes it away from Reiji, which gets him pouting. Shizuma sighs, "You can eat this after practice tomorrow." Reiji lights up, and is happy again, "OK!" Shizuma sighs again, shaking his head, but smiles.

* * *

At Ayanagi...

"Ne, Otori-senpai...you were about to step in earlier...why?" Hoshitani asks. Otori smiles sheepishly, "I couldn't just let you transfer. Not after all the hard work you did just to get this far." Hoshitani thinks back to his senpai's expression, "Were you jealous?" Otori is surprised, then smiles, "If I was...?" "Then you don't have to be. I'm here to stay," Hoshitani smiles back, then kisses him on the cheek. Otori blushes, then kisses him back.

They both smile and blush at each other for awhile, before parting ways and going to bed. Hoshitani sighs before he goes to sleep, _'All is right with the world!'_


End file.
